Hi!
My name is Irina Vasiu-Eris. My relationship with the Informal School of IT started, initially virtually, in September 2016. I was looking for a testing course and found the "lifesaving" link.I decided, in less than 2 weeks, to put on hold everything I was doing in Brașov (I was an events organizer at a beautiful hotel) and set out on a new path. 16 intense weeks followed at the Informal School of IT.
With lessons I understood quickly, others we struggled with for days, with whole discussions on social media alongside my classmates, with homework that was perfect or nearly a complete miss. But always with the same great feedback from the mentors.
This is how a new success story begins at the Informal School of IT.
At 27, Irina is a graduate of the Intro to IT - Introduction to Programming and QA Complete Software Testing Course educational programs. Today she works in IT and wrote to us about opening a new path through the ambition to believe in a new beginning. We asked her about choices, challenges, and satisfactions.
Irina tells her whole experience:
From events organizing to IT – software testing1. Why IT?
After a few years spent in France and Belgium, working for 4- or 5-star hotel chains, I came back to the country with "very high expectations" from this sector.
Unfortunately, I felt the managers I worked for weren't ready for new challenges, and the advice and improvement ideas coming from a 25-year-old were excluded from the start.
So I decided to try a new path. My husband's support, a programmer with 6 years of experience, also played a part in the decision to move toward IT.
2. Why the Informal School of IT?
I found out about the Informal School of IT after a plain Google search: "testing courses". I started "digging through" the Internet to find impressions, graduates' opinions, and I felt it could give me exactly what I wanted. It was a kind of love "at first click".
3. What did the decision to make so many changes in such a short time involve?
The end of September 2016 was a memorable one. I came back from my honeymoon with enough energy for 5 years. I resigned from my former job, went through the Informal School of IT's selection process, and was accepted into Intro to IT.
I started remote interviews for a job in Cluj at a multinational, and after the two positive answers, I looked for a place to rent. My husband and parents, even though they were physically far away (in Brașov), encouraged me and left me alone, so I could focus on studying.
After 13 years, the logic diagrams from high school came in handy4. How difficult was it to master the terms and concepts specific to IT language?
On one hand, my small advantage was that I graduated from a Math-Computer Science high school. The logic diagrams I wasn't friends with at all back then came in handy 13 years later.
On the other hand, the mentors at the Informal School of IT gradually introduced the necessary terminology, and by the end of the courses I already mastered the technical language.
5. How did you manage to organize your time, while working at a multinational at the same time?
I made every effort necessary for my results. Even if that meant that for 9 months, my only break was at Christmas, when I went home for a week. I made the most of every free weekend.
If I hadn't finished my homework for the following week, on Saturdays and Sundays I'd read, talk with my husband, who explained JavaScript to me, or with my classmates from the Informal School of IT on our Facebook group, where we encouraged each other.
6. How did you realize your profile matched that of a future software tester?
I realized I was suited to the software tester profession thanks to the recommendation the mentors gave me at the end of the Intro to IT courses. The recommendation was also confirmed by my friends who already worked in the industry.
I imagined they'd ask me about rockets and nuclear engineering
7. How was the job interview?
At the job interview in Brașov, the one I'd dreamed of for 1 year, I already came in with the experience of the interviews I'd had in Cluj. I was nervous, because I imagined they'd ask me about rockets and nuclear engineering.
Instead, it was a conversation of about 1h15'', in which I felt confident about what I knew. I talked a lot about the final project from the Informal School of IT. I conveyed to the two recruiters the enthusiasm and dedication I'd invested in the final project, and I got the job.
8. What skills did you need to grow in this niche?
Team work x 10, clear communication, a desire to learn and to know, positive energy. During the junior period you have to be like a sponge that soaks up everything it hears and sees.
Yes, it's possible even at 279. Looking at your career and personal path, how did the experience at the Informal School of IT help you?
Besides the drive I came with from home, the four mentors I had at the Informal School of IT made the difference. Once again, I'd like to thank them.
The stories they told us, their joy and enthusiasm about being part of this industry, the patience and the encouragement that "yes, it's possible even at 27" made me want to work in IT even more.
How do I know if I'm ready to make a career change?
Answer honestly the following questions:
- Is what you're doing now the job you'd want in the next 10 or 15 years too?
- Do you go to work with a smile on your face?
I answered myself. I chose IT.
Also read:
Talking with Diana Bordean, QA Complete graduate – Software Testing course
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